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Cartabeau's Mill
'Cartabeau's Mill '''is a considerable fiefdom lining the northern foothills of the Sinapine Mountains. Cartabaeu's Mill is only twenty miles from Boidone and a half-day's journey from Arelon. Much of the land is composed of long fields and rolling hills, its farmlands extending all the way to the Martines to its immediate north. Cartabaeu's Mill receives its name from Chauncen du Cartabaeu. Cartabaeu, whose family of origin is unknown, was distinguished by Calin the Bald during the Saturnite Wars. After being knighted in CE 610, he was granted a small fief that today makes up what is called "the Old Mill." Cartabaeu recovered marches from Boidone that were in possession of the jundai, and later was granted these lands as permanent possessions by Calin the Bald's son Robaerigon in CE 638. The strange symbol of the Red Hand in the sigil of Cartabaeu's Mill. The hand is often called the Red Hand of Burke, named after the castle Burke. The symbol itself is a mystery, and believed to have pagan ties. Economy The lands that make up Cartabaeu's Mill once made for superb wheat fields, but over time had become only useful fro grazing cattle and no longer support large-scale cultivation. Because of its open fields and position between Argo and Boidone, Cartabaeu's Mill is a primary source of beef, milk, cheese, and leather for Anders and Flannings alike. Cartabaeu leather is usually finished with dark pigments in a special process that produces uniform-color dark nubuck and suede leather, which is sold across Illyria by traveling merchants. The cheese made in Cartabaeu's Mill, called brie, is a pale and delicate cheese whose process is wholly unique to Cartabaeu's Mill. In contrast with its neighbor Telfait's Mill, who produces camembert, brie is in short quantity due to the low population of Cartabaeu's Mill. Brie, therefore, is of high value to Illyrian nobles who pay large sums to merchants who visit Cartabaeu's Mill. Notable locations Burke The castle of Burke is a fortification built along the Martines, with a natural moat surrounding the castle. Though Burke is inherited from an Ascani Common term meaning "fortified town," Cartabaeu did not have a solid grasp of the old language and believed it was used to designate a castle instead of a settlement. Burke gives Cartabaeu's Mill its name, housing a massive water mill that stands nearly thirty feet high. Most residents of Cartabaeu's Mill believe Burke to be haunted, and lords who visit the castle often agree. Sightings of apparitions are common, and of particular note is a locked door in the dungeon called the Faerie Door. Superstitions surrounding this unopened door include that any child born in Burke will be the victim of a changeling, which creeps through the door at night. Old Martin Goodfellow Along the road to Argo, an iron cage containing a set of rusted Goodfellow armor can be plainly seen atop a hill, suspended by a chain hanging from a solitary willow tree. The armor is actually the remains of a Goodfellow ''gensu captured by Chaunden du Cartabaeu sometime in the Eleventh Era, who was gibbeted as a warning to other Goodfellows in the enclave that the Mill was under human control. The remains were meant to be taken down after the unnamed Goodfellow died in the cage, as per tradition. However, Cartabaeu became the victim of the evil eye and, mistakenly believing it was the Goodfellow, kept the gibbeted gensu suspended while he sought a way to remove the curse. After Cartabeau's death, the gensu was kept suspended as it had become a fixture to help navigate the hills between Argo and Boidone. Today, the cage remains as a landmark and despite the bad omen and desecration associated with keeping a gibbeted man in a cage for centuries, the remains have become a symbol of the Mill in a way, being nicknamed "Martin" after the Martines which it overlooks, as well as having historic and cultural signficiance to the people of Cartabaeu's Mill. Category:Fiefdom